Settling Debts

"Bring Me That Horizon"

Survival: Shipwreck Cove

Day 7:
Marina decides to accompany Anu-Bara and Hanna to search for food rather than deal with Dennor’s frequent stares. A previously unseen passenger, Nyancat the Wizard (New, Young player) also accompanies. The group heads across the stream to the east, finding a trail which leads to the top of the cliffs which surround the entire cove area where they became shipwrecked. Staying near the cliffside so as not to become disoriented and lose their way back to camp, the group is able to overlook much of the lower terrain, including a waterfall dropping into a small lake (or large pond) which feeds the stream they crossed. Fish jump in the water, and Anu-Bara makes a mental note to craft a makeshift fish-skewer later on that evening.

Not too much distance is covered before food, in the form of a large rabbit, is spotted. As Anu-Bara takes aim with his shortbow, Marina points out a skeleton in the grass nearby, flat on its back. Anu-Bara spooks the rabbit with his shot, and it scampers off, leaving the group to investigate the apparently long-dead humanoid. It wears leather armor of some sort, with a satchel or pack, and a longbow is nearby, all in severe disrepair due to age or elements.

As a Necromancer, Anu-Bara approaches the skeleton and offers respect to its spirit. Unexpectedly, the spirit responds, manifesting as a fully-formed ghost-like apparition. The wood-elf spirit seeks rest, unable to find it on this land, and in return for the respect shown offers a warning: “Beware the Chill.” Anu-Bara asks if he can make use of the dead elf’s bow, and the spirit, Varani, considers for a moment before nodding. “Take it, make use of it if you can, and when you have reached another land – some place I may Rest – burn it.” The spirit then entered the bow, making it whole (though it still bears a worn, antiquated appearance), and providing it with a spectral string. (Ghost Touch Longbow, no enhancement bonus)

Afterwards, by chance or ghostly guidance, the party travels only a short distance before finding not only the same rabbit which was spooked before, but several more – exactly enough, in fact, to feed everyone in camp. This time, Anu-Bara’s aim was true as he felled the first, and the wizard Nyan trapped the remainder of the group of rabbits with magical Webs, then roasted them to perfection with a Fireball.

Having found sufficient food for the time being, the group returns to camp and aids in the remainder of the tasks needed to set up camp. Erthrar and his apprentice continue to remain more isolated, setting their tents apart from the rest of the group. Captain Liresa calls for volunteers for Night Watch, and Anu-Bara takes the first watch, the rest of the crew filling in the other slots. Anu-Bara spends his watch making the fishing skewer he had thought of earlier in the day.

Day 8:
Midnight passes. During the third watch, a powerful roar awakens the group (save for Anu-Bara, who was awakened by Marina since he apparently managed to sleep through the cacophany), and cold air whips through a tunnel north of camp, one that had been explored earlier and found to lead simply to the other side of a jut in the cliffside, deeper into the cove. Everyone readies themselves for combat, and then Caregda and Anu-Bara head up the group through the tunnel.

Reaching the northern end of the tunnel, loud splashing sounds can be heard coming from the northeast, toward the lake. Anu-Bara scouts further, making his way to visual range, and sees a multi-headed draconic beast, pale in color, bathing in the lake. On his way back, Anu-Bara slips on some rocky rubble and sends it scattering noisily. Another roar indicates the sound has been noted, and Anu-Bara runs for the tunnel, ordering a hasty retreat to the far side. Just as the last of the party makes it out the south end and dives to one side, a cold blast of air and ice is shot through the tunnel, followed by large vibrations as the beast slams against the north entrance, unable to get through. After a moment, heavy footsteps indicate the beast is moving away from the entrance, to the east.

Thinking quickly, the party runs for the stream, splitting into two groups to flank the beast if it approaches between the cliffs on either side. It does, and combat ensues.

The group is successful at dispatching the five-headed cryohydra, without much difficulty. The biggest wound sustained by the party was by Marina, when Caregda’s blade slipped after seeing Marina lop off two of the hydra’s heads in the first few seconds of combat. The Wizard Nyan destroyed another head with a well-placed lightning bolt, while a spell-augmented arrow from Anu-Bara dealt significant damage to the beast without taking a head (out of concern that it might grow back exponentially). To be on the safe side, once it was felled the party used brands from the campfire to cauterize the necks.

After taking some time to rest and recuperate, the group discovered and explored another cave to the northeast of the cove, one which was still very cold and icy, and discovered a small trove of treasure within:

The Journey Begins

Day 1:
The party witnesses the light in the west, is later that day called to the office of the Dean to be given the mission. They are given the rest of the day to prepare. A ship will leave port the next morning, and the party is expected to be on it. The captain is a half-elven woman by the name of Liresa, and her ship is the Larkspur.

Day 2:
The next morning, the party boards the ship along with two other passengers. The ship is small, built for speed rather than storage. Among the crew are two other women, both human, and a male elf who seems more interested in ogling the females on board than in his job. One of the female crewmembers smacks the back of his head whenever she notices him staring at anyone, including her. The two other passengers are both male, and seem content to stick to their own company.

Day 3-5:
Travel by sea. The party observes the pattern of the crew, with both the captain and one of the female crewmembers demonstrating magical ability, the latter primarily demonstrating such ability in the form of minor wind manipulation to speed the ship on its course.

Day 6:
A sudden and powerful storm batters the ship incessantly. Thanks to the light emanating from the west, the captain is able to spot some sort of landmass that looks big enough to shelter in, but she’s never seen any such landmass this close to Lorinel before. Regardless, she steers the ship towards it. Her crewmember’s power to alter the wind is too limited to provide more than a slight boost to the ship’s course, but it’s enough. The ship makes it to land, fortunately, but only by crashing against it, damaging the craft. The crew and passengers take refuge in the cove to wait out the storm.

Day 7:
The damage to the ship is troublesome, but seems repairable. Captain Liresa estimates that they will be stuck ashore for about a week, however. More permanent camp structures are erected. The captain drains herself, casting one of her most powerful spells in an attempt to determine their location. She has never come across this landmass before, and it is not on any map she owns. Her attempt proves fruitless however, though whether due to the spell having failed or because of some power blocking her magic is unknown.

The male elf crewman, Dennor, reveals himself to possess magical powers as well. He calls a bird from the surrounding forest to his hand, whispers something to it, then releases it to fly away. It takes to the sky and heads eastward.

One of the human women, Caregda, seems just as comfortable on land in the wilds as she was on the ship. She is the only member of the crew not to demonstrate any sort of magical talent. She busies herself primarily with the construction of the camp, and other survival concerns.

The other woman, Hanna, who had been directing the winds, sets to work using her magical talents to mend some of the smaller projects on the shipwrecked vessel. She is aided by a party member, Marina, a female halfling trained and experienced as a fighter.

The other party member, Anu-Bara, a human of Egyptian origin skilled in Necromancy as well as other arcane and mundane arts, uses his own magical talents to investigate the area with the spell Detect Magic. He discovers that there is a magical “wind” blowing from the west – the direction of the light – and it radiates an aura of Transmutation. He shares this with the others, and Hanna expresses an interest in the knowledge, revealing herself to be a Transmuter. However, she is unable to cast that spell, and so cannot see it for herself. Dennor, after a bit of badgering, uses his talents to view the “wind” and tries to reproduce it for Hanna with a Silent Image, but she is unable to make much of it in that form.

The other two passengers, having stuck to their own company otherwise, suddenly become more amiable (at least towards Anu-Bara), the elder of the two revealing himself as Erthrar, a fellow Necromancer, and introducing his apprentice in the craft, Tarion. Erthrar offers to use his power to raise an undead crew to aid in repairing the ship, but Anu-Bara politely declines the offer.

In addition to Hanna’s Transmutation magics, Anu-Bara’s Detect Magic spell reveals the various energies wielded by others in the group. Captain Liresa possesses Divination and Evocation, Dennor (the lecherous elf) wields Enchantment and Illusion, and Erthrar does possess Necromantic power as stated, his own power level exceeding that of Anu-Bara’s. A few of the captain’s navigational instruments on the ship also glow as magical, and Caregda, though she wields no magic directly, does seem to have one or two minor magical items in her possession.

While Marina continues to work on repairing the ship, Anu-Bara sets out in search of food for the group as a good portion of what was in storage on the ship was ruined or lost in the crash. Hanna accompanies him, as she states she is skilled in identifying plants which are safe to eat. Dennor seems a bit upset at Hanna’s leaving with Anu-Bara, but gets over it quickly by spending more time ogling Marina as she works. That is, until Caregda notices, and whacks the back of his head.